Snippets of Quintessential Miscreant and MarauderOf Monopolies & Men
by Bedraggled Atelier 2
Summary: Snippets from the story that I can't add to the story. SBRL Wolfstar SLASH
1. Gringotts Scene cut out from Ch1

_Author's Note: I wrote this in May 2019, and I don't have a place for it in my story yet. People liked it (three people mentioned it); I liked it, so I'm putting it here. _

Gringotts was a towering, lopsided marble building constructed to look like each of its three floors were competing in a tug of war with the ground floor tilting right and the second floor tilting left. Inside hung grand chandeliers and below them were marble floors in pristine condition that stretched from the large doorways to the end of the corridor and beyond. Rows of dark wooden counters started where the corridor ended, each manned by an aging goblin.

The goblins that ran the Gringotts Bank were of miniature size with large pointy ears and pale skin. Their kind were prideful and wily, not as honorable as the Centaurs but nowhere near the volatile tempers of the merfolk. For whatever reason, these stout, shrewd creatures were seen as trustworthy guards for most, if not all, of the gold in the Wizarding World.

From his place in line, Remus could see the brows of the goblin wrinkled in deep concentration, and he was suddenly aware of their similarities to house elves, the only enslaved magical beings in the realm. What alliance did the goblins have with wizards that house elves did not? And how could one be so inferior to the other?

When Remus approached the dark mahogany counters, a goblin fixed his beady, dark eyes on Remus and said coldly. "Well, well, a werewolf."

Remus felt his heart drop. Was it so obvious?

"And how can I help the werewolf?" the goblin asked, folding his hands together as he gazed down at the young squib.

"I'd like to make a withdrawal," Remus said. The brunette wondered briefly if anyone behind him had heard. With the goblin's stare looming above his head, Remus reached into his pocket for his key and placed it on the counter, waiting as the goblin held it by the candle for inspection.

"Seems to be about right," said the goblin. Then, the goblin stopped and turned back to Remus. "Is this yours?"

"No, it's my parents'," Remus said, a little more unsure now, wondering if he would have to return another day with his mother or father. "I'm running an errand."

The goblin paused and seemed to consider Remus's words before he continued. "Alright, I'll take you there myself, but if what you say is untrue, you'll soon find yourself in Azkaban."

The goblin stepped down from his high chair and unlocked the door to the teller desk.

His height was astonishingly short to Remus, who was much taller than goblins when he last visited. Now a gangly youth, Remus was several heads taller than the shorter creature who ushered him to the train and unlocked his vault.

The Lupin family had a modest fortune, and they sought to give their children the same middle class opportunities that they had. What they could not foresee was the cost of moving every few years for Remus's condition, nor the money lost caring for a child unwelcome in the Wizarding World.

The gold in the vault was the remainder of his family's nest egg.

He grabbed a handful and pocketed it.


	2. 12 Grimmauld Place - Blacks Departed

12 Grimmauld Place was a gilded cage disguised as an urban manor in a muggle neighborhood within walking distance of King's Cross station. Its exterior, a townhouse with black doors, black metal fences, walls of white concrete and exposed brick, belied its true nature as a jail for the the young Blacks, confining the wizards and their ancestors from the Muggle World in rooms of embroidered tapestries, carved wooden furniture, and the finest silverware from the Renaissance - all handcrafted by artisans long gone.

The Blacks were no different from every pureblood family. They owned a house elf whose duties were to obey with utter reverence, to clean and cook and serve the whims of the family. Their own, Kreacher, was dubbed after the dark creatures that lurked beyond magical civilization. He was a decrepit house elf with a gaunt face and wore a dirty cloth that failed to hide the protruding bones of his thin body. Kreacher found pleasure in heeding his masters' every command, especially those of the late mistress of the house, Sirius Black's mother, but the house elf despised the young Sirius and the eldest son's uncooperative nature.

So when the portrait of the deceased Walburga Black commanded Kreacher to fetch Sirius, the house elf did so with a scowl in Sirius's direction like the young wizard was a dirty stain.

"Young master Sirius," Kreacher said from the door. "Mistress demands your presence at tonight's gathering."

"I won't be going," Sirius stressed. "And there won't be any gathering. You can tell my mother that too."

"Mistress did not request your presence," Kreacher said. "Mistress demands it."

"She can make demands all she likes," Sirius said as he strode towards the door. "Unlike you, I don't have to listen to her."

With that, Sirius shoved the house elf out of the room and slammed the door shut.

Silence reigned again. That is, until Kreacher relayed his response to his mother.

"SIRIUS BLACK," Her voice bellowed from downstairs.

To his mother, living or otherwise, Sirius Black was an insolent renegade, unfit to be the heir to a family line that dated back to the middle ages. His younger brother Regulus Black was the better son, as Sirius was told many times, more loyal to his blood and to the ancient world of wizards. Regulus was proper and perfectly obedient to the old ways where Sirius sought rebellion.

If his mother was alive, she would heave herself up the stairs in her long gown and rap sharply at the door.

"Open the door," she would order.

"It's not locked, Mother," he would reply.

The door would swing open, revealing the all too familiar face of his darling mother - red faced from the physical exertion and all the more ill tempered because of it. She would proceed to shout orders at him before slamming the door shut, her footsteps retreating downstairs.

But now she was among the dead, and the only remnants of her was her screaming portrait permanently attached to the wall downstairs.

Instead of getting dressed, Sirius pulled out his two way mirror and attempted to contact his best friend James.

"Hello, how's your summer going?" said James on the other side.

"Horribly," Sirius said miserably. "My mother's already screaming like a banshee."

"Over what?"

"Some dinner party tonight she planned."

"Didn't know dead women can still plan dinner parties."

"Must have been Kreacher," Sirius said. "Even when she's dead, he's still following her orders."


	3. St Mungo's Hospital - SiriusRemus POV

Sirius's good friend James had dislocated his shoulders while trying to impress the hot tempered Lily Evans at the Quidditch World Cup. For all the pair's brilliance in the magical arts, they were inept at healing spells, never finding mending bones and healing paper cuts paramount to their adventures, unlike destructive hexes. Instead of attempting a simple healing spell now and potentially destroying James's arm entirely, they decided to visit St. Mungo's Hospital, where a medic could patch James up for a small fee.

When asked how he injured his arm, his messy haired friend grinned and answered, "Just some rough housing."

"James, here, fell off his broom flirting," Sirius interjected.

"Shush, Sirius," James hissed, giving Sirius a light shove. "Like you've never done anything stupid."

"I've never played Casanova for a Miss Lily Evans and ended up breaking every bone in my body."

While the medic patched up James injuries, Sirius, feeling eyes on him, let his gaze wandered around the infirmary until it rested on a adolescent who looked around his age. The youth had tan haired that radiated warmth under the rays of midday sun and had a reflective look in his eyes. When their eyes locked, Sirius felt a heavy hold on his heart.

The tanned hair youth reached for the privacy curtains and closed it shut.

* * *

The sharp pains from his self inflicted wounds had eased into a dull ache. Remus expected to be discharged before the end of the summer, just in time to see Romulus off. Without the pain, his thoughts quickly returned to his parents' recent fascination with muggle appliances and to his future. Life outside of the Wizarding community was hard to fathom. No magical conveniences. No spells to whip up a meal. No family.

A few days into Remus's recovery, a spectacle wearing young man with messy hair walked into the room, nursing a dislocated shoulder and a broken arm. Remus could just see him and his friend through the openings of the privacy curtains. When asked how he injured his arm, the messy haired teen grinned and answered, "Just some rough housing."

"James, here, fell off his broom flirting," his friend interjected.

"Shush, Sirius," James hissed, giving Sirius a light shove. "Like you've never done anything stupid."

Remus noticed that his friend Sirius was a tall, well built youth with a handsome face and dark curls.

"I've never played Casanova for a Miss Lily Evans and ended up breaking every bone in my body."

While the medic patched up James injuries, Sirius, feeling eyes on him, let his gaze wandered around the infirmary until it rested on Remus. The handsome young man eyed Remus curiously.

Remus reached for the privacy curtains and closed it shut.


	4. Cornerstore, Hogsmeade, Blacks Departed

The weekend of Halloween, Sirius dropped in again to pick up last minute snacks. Remus followed him with his eyes as Sirius weaved through the throngs of Hogwarts students and Hogsmeade locals on one aisle and then drifted to the other aisle and scanned the shelves there. Sirius finally settled on a bag of chocolate almonds, the same ones Remus ate, and several bags of snacks (pretzels, jerkie, chips).

"So how many Blacks are there?" Remus started. Sirius shifted his gaze to Remus.

"Hm?"

"I saw someone named Regulus Black," Remus explained. "He looks just like you."

"My brother," Sirius said. "It's just us two now. Three if you count my uncle."

Three? The Blacks were a family of four - father, mother, and two sons.

Remus froze. Just two siblings? As the words sunk in, Remus became horrified. "I'm very sorry."

"I'm not," Sirius went on with a serious look on his face. "I'm glad they're gone."

Remus gaped.

"Goodbye, Remus"

"Ah," stammered Remus, at a loss for words. "goodbye."

Romulus was lounging in a wooden chair by the entrance and watched the exchange between the two until Black departed.

Remus returned to work with shame written on his face and ignored the questioning look his brother gave him. As he worked, Remus was reminded of the look on Sirius Black's face. What could make you hate your own parents?


	5. Animagus - The Grim for the werewolf

Standing where Sirius previously stood was The Grim, an enormous, black canine that forebode death, one of the worst omens in the Wizarding World. Remus breathed in shakily, both in despair and in awe. He lowered himself onto his knees and held out his hands, reaching for his friend and stopping inches away from the young Black. Remus waited for Sirius to approach him. Sirius complied and rested his head on Remus's palms.

Remus was transfixed by those striking gray eyes - a misty silver against black, like the celestial stars that illuminated the heavens at twilight. Sirius yelped, jumping into Remus's arms and licking his face. Remus chuckled and enveloped his friend in a warm hug, affectionately caressing the dog and feeling the ebony curls between his fingers.

When Sirius transformed back into a man, Remus leaned back, intending to stand and retreat a few steps back, but Sirius placed his large palms over Remus's, keeping Remus in place, and nuzzled into the other's hands with his cheek.

"You're beautiful," Remus whispered, grazing his thumb against Sirius's cheek. "Your animagus is beautiful."

Remus wondered if he was cursed now, doomed to a fate of ill fortune now that he had caught a glimpse of The Grim and gazed into its eyes, embedding it in his memory forever. Had he entered imprisonment willingly and remained willingly though no walls bound him in place?

And Sirius? Had he been cursed too?

Was he like Remus, who was driven mad by infection every month? Had fate cursed them both to become wild and sinister beasts of the night for as long as they were among the living?


	6. Love as a weightless sigh

For Remus, love was like a weightless sigh, like being submersed in profound emotions of affection and attachment. He felt a sacred unity between the two of them, and without words they spoke a language only they shared. With one look, time stopped. Remus felt acutely aware of those silver eyes on him, ushering him into deeper waters and submerging him under their depths. And with a sigh, he let these feelings drown him, forever altering his being.

For Sirius, love was intoxicating. An intoxicating concoction of emotions that held him, bound him to a unity of seemingly limitless warmth and radiance, and devoured him, leaving him without the remains of his former self, only a lovesick fool with little sanity and an unquenchable thirst for more of what drowned him.


	7. Enamored

_Dear Prongs,_

_I was enamored with Remus the first time our eyes met at St. Mungo's. I felt, for the first time, that complementary pairs truly existed, and that we were such a pair. But it wasn't until Christmas of Year 5 that I truly felt like I knew who Remus Lupin was, and I became even more attached to this gentle hearted, clever person. It was then that I stopped my flirtatious advances and sought him out during my breaks for his company, his presence, his words, and the glimpse of those eyes on me. _

_In Year 6, when you and I remained at Hogwarts during the winter holidays, just after we discovered Remus was a werewolf, I went to confront Remus. His door was opened, and he was inside packing his bags, believing that we would reveal his condition to other students. He turned, and once again, our eyes met._

_As I stood there, staring into his green eyes, I couldn't tell where he stopped and where I began. Part of me had vanished into oblivion, replaced by a burgeoning new identity._

_Padfoot_


	8. After Hogwarts

AFTER HOGWARTS

Remus stayed at Hogwarts for one more year after Sirius and James left but resigned at the end of the school year, fearing that the Ministry's new regulations on werewolves would force him to leave under more violent treatment. He disappeared quietly from the Wizarding World and found refuge in a werewolf camp hidden deep in the Dark Forest. During his first week at the reservation, Remus had caught a stomach bug and spent most of his days either violently vomiting, falling into an uncomfortable slumber, or drenching himself in cold water from the river to lower his fever.

Nature was not the paradise Remus had envisioned. It was cruel to life but provided for it; it was unyielding but also accommodating, fickle and predictable. Remus found himself in a sort of limbo between heaven and hell, wading through rapid waters one day and almost dying of thirst a few days later. Quite literally.

One of his housemate was never without a cigar. Every evening, just before dusk, the vapors that he exhaled gathered at the entrance of the door and found its way into the cabin, wrenching Remus from his sleep. He had dreamed that he was suffocating in a locked chamber with no walls, no bars, and no doors, completely stuck and suffering in silent desperation.

He sat up and called. "Can you please put that cigar out? I can hardly breathe," Remus groaned.

"Alright," said a faint, sleepy voice.

The post from Sirius rested undisturbed on his trunk. Now that he was awake, he might as well read it. He broke the seal and unfolded the letter.

_Dear Remus,_

_Thank you for letters. They__ mean more to me than you know._

_I hope this letter reaches you. James and I were surprised to hear that you left your post at Hogwarts last year. Are you working at your parent's store in Hogsmeade?_

_Romania is breathtaking. Unmarked lands encapsulated by mountainous, snowy peaks. You'd love where we're staying. It's a small, run down, medieval castle. The locals have told us that it's haunted by the spirits of a widow and were shocked when James and I offered to purchase it. So far, no ghouls._

_You should visit us during Christmas or New Years. That is, if you're free. By then, we'll have the place fit for living. Hopefully, Lily will join us too, so James can stop moping over her absence._

_James spends all of his vacation days visiting Lily. Every four months, he leaves for a week to meet her, and when he returns, he says he wants to quit and move back. He's absolutely lovesick over her, and there's no cure._

_I hope you're coping well with your monthly transformations. We all do. If you need me there, just let me know. I can be there within a few months. Or maybe we can make some arrangements and have you come to Romania. It'll be like old times, the Marauders together again, plus Lily._

_I hope to hear from you soon, __Sirius_


	9. Pallid face, dull green eyes

Remus felt drained.

He took a look in the mirror and saw a pallid face and dull green eyes reflected back at him. Years of illness and the lack of sunlight following a full moon had started to blanch his skin. He wondered briefly how anyone could look at him and see him the way Sirius did. With affections and love for the lycanthrope with no future and the squib with no means to support himself in the Wizarding World.

He left his family because he didn't want to burden them with his disease, especially not while they were grieving over the death of his mother who had finally fallen cold one evening after years of battling illness. And he did not want to dampen Romulus's quintessential wizarding life with the gloom of his affliction.

He could not shift the burden of his disease from his family to Sirius. No, he loved him too much to let Sirius suffer with him every month when he is turned into a beast driven mad by infection. He couldn't let Sirius watch as he recovered from physical wounds after every full moon nor allow the raven haired man to accompany the occasional hospital visits every other month for the rest of his life.

He could not ask that of Sirius, who he knew would gladly suffer alongside him and would patiently remain with Remus even as the disease consumed what remaining strength age had not made elusive.

Yet part of him wanted to stay with Sirius.

Part of him did not want to be alone. He wanted, most of all, to be with Sirius through it all.

And he hated how selfish he was.


	10. Dialogue

"Stop being dramatic, Remus. You're not dying yet."

"But someday I will. I can't handle the changes every month for the rest of my life. Someday, I'll grow weaker and die of shock."

"Someday, we'll all die. I'm dying right now. Did you see these age spots? Dying."

"Sirius, those are freckles."

"From aging skin."

"From the sun."

"That ages skin."


	11. Chocolates

_Dear Prongs,_

_After a few decades of being together, Remus and I have started to get comfortable. He worries about the possibility of his death and leaving me behind, and I distract him from these thoughts with my company. I'm like the chocolates he brings everywhere - always there, ready to be enjoyed, possibly rotting in his coat pocket, but cherished at times of leisure (like in the morning and the afternoon and at the dinner table), high stress (like when he lost his mother), and low energy (like after a full moon or before it). Only a few these metaphors are sexual innuendos. At times, it is just us in each other company's and nothing more. Sometimes it's conversations and nothing more._

_And I'm happy to be there beside him even when the pleasure has melted away and left me with the lingering taste of his presence. And when he departs from this world, I know that his presence will still linger with me like it does now._

_Padfoot_


	12. I do love you - with a heavy heart

Letters, part 1

_Dear Padfoot,_

_I heard from Lily that she and James broke up. How is Prongs doing?_

_How are you?_

_Looking forward to staying with you in Romania,_

_Moony_

_Dear Moony,_

_I almost thought you had forgotten about me. I haven't received a letter from you for months, and when I do, the first line is about James._

_James is miserable. He just doesn't say it. The long distance was too much for him, but now that it's over, he's an emotional wreck._

_I'm doing alright too. Better now knowing that you're visiting soon._

_Sirius_

Letters, part 2

_Dear Padfoot and Prongs,_

_I hope Padfoot doesn't mind that I addressed you both in a letter. Just didn't see the point in writing two letters with essentially the same message._

_After I resigned from my post at Hogwarts, I relocated to a new place far from the Wizarding World. Owls don't make it here easily, not without being eaten first, so I've used my parent's store address instead._

_Looking forward to seeing you both in Romania,_

_Moony_

_Dear Moony,_

_Where are you? The Dark Forest? I can't think of any other place where owls would be eaten._

_Prongs_

_P.S. __Padfoot refuses to read the letter as it's addressed to both of us. He kindly asks that you treat him like an individual, not an appendage to me, and, although he won't say it, shower him with undivided attention._

_Dear Prongs,_

_Looks like you've already discovered my location. I am, indeed, hiding deep within the Dark Forests. New regulations at the Ministry have made it impossible for me to seek employment and residence elsewhere._

_Moony_

_P.S. __Padfoot is already 20, much too old to be acting childish. Wizards his age don't need undivided attention from friends._

_Dear Moony,_

_Are all your letters meant to hurt Sirius?_

_Prongs_

_Dear Prongs,_

_I don't know what you mean. I only wished to emphasized his age._

_Moony_

_Dear Moony,_

_It sounds like you wanted to emphasize your friendship towards him, which we both know isn't how he feels, and I thought it wasn't how you felt either._

_Prongs_

_Dear Prongs,_

_Sirius and I are good friends, nothing more. I love him, but I can't love him in the way he wants._

_Moony_

_Dear Moony,_

_Do friends generally kiss, Remus? I don't remember kissing any of mine._

_Prongs_

Letters, part 3

_Dear Remus,_

_Let me be honest with you. __I've been pining for you ever since I was 15, when I saw you at St. Mungo's and again at Platform 9 and 3/4. I had little doubts that I could convince you that we were two complementary pairs, the evening star and the moon, The Grim and the wolf. I thought you shared those feelings, at least towards the end of Year 7, when your lips met mine and again during the holiday when we were practically eating each other._

_To be completely honest here, I don't understand your hesitation. Has your condition made you feel unworthy of love, Remus, unable to see that there exists someone in the world who loves you with such intensity that I can hardly breathe at times? I can fully support you through your troubles, through every full moon, through every financial crisis and through the years._

_I know you just as much as you know me. Tell me how you feel. If you love me, tell me. Whatever struggles you're facing, we can face it together. You and me until we grow old and wither away in our graves._

_With love and devotion,_

_Sirius_

Letters, part 4

_Dear Sirius,_

_As your friend, I must tell you now that your money does nothing for my blight. Yes, you can bribe lawmakers to change their stance against my kind, but you won't undo the centuries of prejudice in the Wizarding World. It'll always come back, maybe even a year after those changes have been enacted. __And with all your brilliance and James's, you can't lessen the pains I endure every month. You heard me before, I know it, as I screamed every full moon right before a transformation._

_With the animagus, you've tamed the wolf in me but can never domesticate its savage nature and its instinct to tear into human flesh and devour it._

_I've always been thankful towards you and James and Lily for your friendship and your support. I'll always be fond of those memories we made at Hogwarts._

_Gratefully,_

_Remus_

_Remus,_

_You haven't answered my question. Do you love me? Not as a brother or a friend._

_Sirius_

_Dear Sirius,_

_I do love you. With a heavy heart._

_Remus_


	13. Mischief

Remus was a wild wolf tamed by the presence of his friends, and Sirius was a feral dog, made even more feral by his friendship with James. At one time, whenever the two of them were together, marauding like some bandits from the middle ages, trouble followed.


	14. Insults

"And I've heard Lupin here is a werewolf. Didn't know you enjoyed bestiality. How's he in bed? Like an animal? Don't look so sour."

"You're as imposing as your father. Just your expression would frighten anyone away. I suppose that's why you settled with Lupin? Witches too delicate for your taste?"

"He speaks just like us. Maybe not with the same confidence, but he sounds human. Must be the years of living with our kind. Truly impressive. Where were you educated, Lupin?"

"My parents tutored me entirely at home."

"Magical?"

"Going to squander your fortune away on animal husbandry?"

"What do you do for work?"

"I don't work currently, but I am actively looking."

"You don't feel the need to work or...?"

"I can't find employment in the Wizarding World, so I've taken posts in the Muggle World."

"Ah, muggles. Strange people, aren't they? Always seem to be tinkering with something."

"They have their own type of magic."

"Impressive. You've managed to turn a werewolf into your pet dog."

"What are you to the eldest Black? Some sort of familiar?"


	15. Predator

"I won't have you insult Remus."

"It's not an insult towards anyone but a warning towards you, Sirius. You're ruining your reputation."

"My reputation?" Sirius asked. "Don't you mean the Black family's reputation? You're here to tell me that I'm tarnishing the reputation of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black?"

"This is a trap, Sirius. Lupin is part beast. You don't know what primal instincts drive him to you. He's a parasite, a vampire that leeches-"

"I thought he was a werewolf," Sirius said sardonically. "Now he's a parasite, a vampire, and a leech. Which is it?"

"You can't change who he is, Sirius. Werewolves are part animal. Part of them is unpredictable and violent - wild. They prey on wizards. How do you know he's not preying on you now? How?"

"That's only his other form. Remus Lupin is human, like you and me."

"How sure are you?"

"Very."

* * *

"I've warned you. And I'll keep warning you while you're still alive. Get out of whatever bond you've made with that half-breed."

"Remus."

"Yes, Remus. His nature is wild. I only hope you don't discover it one day when he has his jaws locked on you."


End file.
